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Intense urban development and high urban density cause the thermal environment in urban centers to deteriorate continuously, affecting the quality of the living environment. In this study, 707.49 hectares of land in the central area of Changsha were divided into 121 plots. 11 microclimate-related morphological indicators were comprehensively selected, and the K-means method was used for cluster analysis. Then, the relationship between morphological clusters and the thermal environment was explored by simulating the thermal environment of the study area with ENVI-met. First, five spatial types were found to characterize the area: high-level with high floor area ratio, low density, and low greenery; middle-level with high floor area ratio high density; medium-capacity with high density and small volume; low-level with low density and high greenery; and low floor area ratio, low density, and high greenery. Second, the building windward surface density, sky openness, building density, floor area ratio and green space rate affect the thermal environment. Third, Cluster3 had the highest average air temperature (Ta), followed by Cluster5, furthermore Clusters4, 1, and2 had relatively low Ta. The spatial vitality index and green space rate in Cluster1; the area-weighted building shape index, average building volume and sky openness in Cluster2; green space rate in Cluster3; indicators such as the floor area ratio and green space rate in Cluster4; indicators such as the impervious surface rate and green space rate in Cluster5 had greater influences on Ta. Fourthly, simply increasing the area of green space cannot maximize the cooling effect of green spaces. Instead, constructing an equalized greening network can better regulate the thermal environment. Fifthly, the results provide a scientific basis for the design and the regulation of urban centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that tree arrangement provides effective regulation of the outdoor thermal environment and combats the urban heat island (UHI) effect. To further explore semi-outdoor thermal environment improvement using tree arrangement, we selected two common arbor species from Guangdong Province, namely, Lagerstroemia speciosa and Bombax ceiba. We discuss the influence of courtyard tree arrangements on the thermal environment of semi-outdoor spaces (courtyards and overhead spaces) of a teaching building in a hot-humid area. The ENVI-met model was used and verified with field measurements; the universal thermal climate index (UTCI) was used as an index to evaluate the thermal environment of semi-outdoor spaces. We found that (1) adjusting the distance between trees and buildings reduced the UTCI values by 0.4 (overhead spaces) and 0.8 ℃ (courtyards); and (2) when the distance between the arbor and the building is fixed, the UTCI values of arranging Lagerstroemia speciosa can be reduced by up to 0.5 (overhead spaces) and 1.0 ℃ (courtyards) compared to that of Bombax ceiba; this study provides practical suggestions for the layout of trees in semi-outdoor spaces of teaching buildings in the hot-humid areas of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the influence of the high biodiversity silvopastoral system (SPSnu) on the microclimate, pasture production, and pasture chemical composition. Microclimate variables and pasture production and chemical composition were measured in pared paddocks under SPSnu and treeless pasture (TLP) in a commercial farm during four seasons in Southern Brazil. SPSnu measurements were subdivided into two areas: around the nuclei (AN) and area inter-nuclei (IN). In the TLP paddocks, we plotted fictitious nuclei with the same areas and distributions of SPSnu, however without trees. For the microclimate measurements, these areas were noted when shaded or unshaded by the nuclei trees. In each season, the microclimate variables air temperature (AT, °C), relative humidity (RH, %), illuminance (Ilu, lux), wind speed (WS, m/s), and soil surface temperature (SST, °C) were measured. In addition, botanical composition (%), pasture production (kg/DM/ ha), and pasture chemical composition were evaluated. The SPSnu provided the lowest values of microclimate variables in all seasons (p < 0.05), except for the relative humidity. Winter had the highest thermal amplitude in the systems. The highest difference between SPSnu and TLP for AT (4.3 °C) and SST (5.2 °C) was measured during the hot seasons (spring and summer). In contrast, during cold seasons (autumn and winter) it observed highest thermal amplitude between SPSnu and TLP. Overall, the highest annual pasture production was observed in the SPSnu (p < 0.05). During the summer, the SPSnu areas showed the highest values of crude protein and dry matter (p < 0.05). During the winter, the TLP showed the lowest values (p < 0.05) of pasture production and dry matter. It was observed that SPSnu improved the microclimate at the pasture level, influencing pasture production and pasture chemical composition. The enhanced microclimate can partially mitigate some of the effects of climate change on pastoral agroecosystems, creating conditions for ecological rehabilitation of ecosystem processes and services. These conditions could be amplified to a biome level through a payment for ecosystem services program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global burden of neurodegenerative disorders is significantly increasing as life expectancy rises but currently there is no cure for these conditions. An extensive search on MEDLINE (PubMed) and PEDro databases was conducted selecting clinical trials, Randomized Controlled Trials, and longitudinal studies published in the last 20 years in order to highlight what evidence there is for a role of spa rehabilitative interventions for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, in terms of motor function, symptoms, and quality of life (QoL) improvement and cost-effectiveness. A total of 225 publications were analyzed. Only three manuscripts were selected for review because they matched the inclusion criteria. These studies demonstrated statistically significant differences in the outcomes evaluated among patients affected by Parkinson's disease after thermal rehabilitative treatments: motor function, balance, QoL, and psychological well-being statistically improved. In addition, rehabilitation in the spa setting seemed to be cost-effective for these patients. However, further studies are needed to define the role of spa rehabilitative interventions for these patients as the literature is still limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to establish to what extent extreme thermal conditions have changed and how they affected mortality, and what conditions favor lower mortality rates or conversely, higher mortality rates. Heat/cold exposure was measured with the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). Daily mortality and meteorological data for 8 large Polish cities (Białystok, Gdańsk, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Poznań, Warszawa, and Wrocław) in the period 1975–2014 were analyzed. Generalized additive models were used to investigate the relationship between UTCI and mortality, and TBATS models were used for the evaluation of time series UTCI data. Most of the cities experienced a clear and statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05 decrease in cold stress days of 0.8–3.3 days/year and an increase in the frequency of thermal heat stress days of 0.3–0.6 days/year until 1992–1994. There was a clear difference as regards the dependence of mortality on UTCI between cities located in the "cooler" eastern part of Poland and the "warmer" central and western parts. "Cool" cities were characterized by a clear thermal optimum, approx. in the range of 5–30 °C UTCI, changing slightly depending on cause of death, age, or sex. For UTCI over 32 °C, in most of the cities except Gdańsk and Lublin, the relative risk of death (RR) rose by 10 to 20%; for UTCI over 38 °C, RR rose to 25–30% in central Poland. An increase in mortality on cold stress days was noted mainly in the "cool" cities: RR of total mortality increased even by 9–19% under extreme cold stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermally comfortable design of outdoor spaces favors social interaction and outdoor activities and thus contributes to the overall well-being of urban dwellers. To assess such a design, obstacle-resolving models (ORM) combined with thermal indices may be used. This paper reviews existing thermal indices to identify those suitable for thermal comfort assessment with ORMs. For the identification, 11 criteria and six index features are derived from literature analysis focusing on the characteristics of human environmental heat exchange, of outdoor urban environments, and of ORMs. An air temperature weighted world population distribution is calculated to derive the minimal air temperature range; a thermal index should cover to be applicable to 95% of the world population. The criteria are applied to 165 thermal indices by reviewing their original publications. Results show that only four thermal indices are suitable to be applied globally in their current form to various outdoor urban environments and also fulfill the requirements of ORMs. The evaluation of the index features shows that they differ with respect to the comprehensiveness of the thermophysiological model, the assessed human response, the treatment of clothing and activity, and the computational costs. Furthermore, they differ in their total application frequency in past ORM studies and in their application frequency for different climatic zones, as a systematic literature analysis of thermal comfort studies employing ORMs showed. By depicting the differences of the thermal indices, this paper provides guidance to select an appropriate thermal index for thermal comfort studies with ORMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal effects of the environment are the most prominent environmental influences on the human body. Keeping the body core temperature in a narrow optimum range is the dominating physiological process. Thus, assessing thermal environments has been a major field in biometeorology for many decades, which is also reflected in the number of respective articles and their citations. In the early days of thermal assessments, simple indices only considering a few environmental parameters were used. The next step has been the development of heat budget models describing all relevant heat/energy fluxes to and from the human body. One of the first was PET, which has been presented in the most cited IJBM publication ever (1999). All of these models created by individual scientists have some shortcomings and confinements in their application. In order to overcome such restrictions and to bring the state of the art scientists of thermal modelling together a working group to define a 'universal' thermal climate index (UTCI) has been founded, backed and driven by an own commission of the International Society of Biometeorology. This working group has developed a comprehensive open source tool to calculate UTCI for the assessment of outdoor thermal environments for biometeorological applications (see the IJBM special issue 56 (2012) on UTCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the daily variations in the thermoregulatory behavior of 4- to 6-week-old naked neck broilers (Label Rouge) in an equatorial semi-arid environment. A total of 220 birds were monitored for 5 days starting at 0600 hours and ending at 1800 hours. The period of observation was divided into classes of hours ( C). The observed behaviors were as follows: feed and water intake, wing-spreading, sitting or lying, and beak-opening. A total of 14,300 behavioral data values were registered. In C 2 (0900 hours to 1100 hours) and 3 (1200 hours to 1500 hours), the greatest average body surface temperature was recorded (34.67 ± 0.25 °C and 35.12 ± 0.22 °C, respectively). The C had an effect on the exhibition of all behaviors with the exception of the water intake behavior. Feed intake was more frequent in C 1 (0600 hours to 0800 hours) and 4 (1600 hours to 1800 hours). In C 2 and 3, the highest frequency of sitting or lying behavior was observed. Beak-opening and wing-spreading behaviors occurred more frequently in C 3 where the body surface temperature (35.12 ± 0.22 °C), radiant heat load (519.38 ± 2.22 W m), and enthalpy (82.74 ± 0.36 kJ kg of dry air) reached maximum recorded averages. Thus, it can be concluded that naked neck broilers adjust their behavior in response to daily variations in the thermal environment. Wing-spreading and beak-opening behaviors are important adaptive responses to the thermal challenges posed by the equatorial semi-arid environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During two investigation periods in transient seasons (14 weekdays in autumn 2009 and 15 weekdays in spring 2010) 967 visitors in two inner city squares of Szeged (Hungary) were asked about their estimation of their thermal environment. Interrelationships of subjective assessments-thermal sensation, perceptions and preferences for individual climate parameters-were analyzed, as well as their connections with the prevailing thermal conditions [air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, mean radiant temperature and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET)]. Thermal sensation showed strong positive relationships with air temperature and solar radiation perception, while wind velocity and air humidity perception had a negative (and weaker) impact. If a parameter was perceived to be low or weak, then it was usually desired to be higher or stronger. This negative correlation was weakest in the case of humidity. Of the basic meteorological parameters, Hungarians are most sensitive to variations in wind. Above PET = 29°C, people usually prefer lower air temperature and less solar radiation. The temperature values perceived by the interviewees correlated stronger with PET, but their means were more similar to air temperature. It was also found that the mean thermal sensation of Hungarians in transient seasons depends on PET according to a quadratic function ( R = 0.912) and, consequently, the thermal comfort ranges of the locals differ from that usually adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics, as well as the seasonal occurrence of measles in Ondo state, Nigeria, to better understand the role of the thermal environment in the occurrence of the childhood killer disease measles, which ranks among the top ten leading causes of child deaths worldwide. The linkages between measles and atmospheric environmental factors were examined by correlating human-biometeorological parameters in the study area with reported clinical cases of measles for the period 1998-2008. We also applied stepwise regression analysis in order to determine the human-biometeorological parameters that lead to statistical changes in reported clinical cases of measles. We found that high reported cases of measles are associated with the least populated areas, where rearing and cohabitation of livestock/domestic animals within human communities are common. There was a significant correlation ( P < 0.01) between monthly cases of measles and human-biometeorological parameters except wind speed and vapour pressure. High transmission of measles occurred in the months of January to May during the dry season when human thermal comfort indices are very high. This highlights the importance of the thermal environment in disease demographics since it accounted for more than 40% variation in measles transmission within the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to understand the relationship between people's declared bioclimatic comfort, their personal characteristics (age, origin, clothing, activity and motivation, etc.) and the atmospheric conditions. To attain this goal, questionnaire surveys were made concurrently with weather measurements (air temperature, relative humidity, solar and long-wave radiation and wind speed) in two open leisure areas of Lisbon (Portugal), during the years 2006 and 2007. We analysed the desire expressed by the interviewees to decrease, maintain or increase the values of air temperature and wind speed, in order to improve their level of comfort. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyse the quantitative relation between preference votes and environmental and personal parameters. The preference for a different temperature depends on the season and is strongly associated with wind speed. Furthermore, a general decrease of discomfort with increasing age was also found. Most people declared a preference for lower wind speed in all seasons; the perception of wind shows significant differences depending on gender, with women declaring a lower level of comfort with higher wind speed. It was also found that the tolerance of warmer conditions is higher than of cooler conditions, and that adaptive strategies are undertaken by people to improve their level of comfort outdoors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]